By Rebecca Martin.

Russia is arguably the home of ballet. Some of the world’s greatest stars, past and present have trained there and they are renowned for their gymnastic flexibility and dynamic technique. Russian ballet schools and companies are infamously difficult to get into and are incredibly demanding on the body and psyche. Add into that the volatile state of the arts and politics in Russia and you’ve got dancers who are willing to do anything to get to the top and stay there.

When news of an acid attack against The Bolshoi Ballet’s Artistic Director spread on January 17 this year, the dance world was stunned. Most shocking of all was that it wasn’t a random act of violence, but a calculated attack by a disgruntled theatre employee who was unhappy with the state of play at The Bolshoi Ballet.

Ballet has previously only ever dipped its toes into political matters, mainly when a dancer wished to defect from a country, as Li Cunxin famously did from China, but now the art form is knee deep in the political battles of a theatre in crisis.

Prior to the incident on January 17, The Bolshoi’s Artistic Director, Sergei Filin had been feeling under threat for some time, noting that his phones had been blocked, his car tyres slashed and his internet hacked, all of which he believed was a warning.

Bolshoi Ballet soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko is the alleged mastermind of the attack, although he has said that he didn’t order anyone to throw acid at Filin’s face. Dmitrichenko complained about Filin to an acquaintance, Yuri Zurutsky, who then offered to beat up Filin. Zurutsky was paid 50,000 rubles (about $1,600) by Dmitrichenko to inflict harm on Filin because he was unhappy about the way money was distributed within the ballet company. “I told Yuri Zarutsky about the policies of the Bolshoi Theater, about the bad things going on, the corruption. When he said: ‘OK, let me beat him up, hit him upside the head,’ I agreed, but that is all that I admit to doing,” Dmitrichenko said in court.¹

It has been suggested that Dmitrichenko was upset over Filin’s refusal to cast his girlfriend in a lead role. However, Filin’s lawyer has said that the group of people involved in the attack is much larger than the two men charged by police.  Accusations and theories abound, with The Bolshoi’s general director, Anatoly Iksanov, accusing principal dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze of inspiring the attack. Filin’s appointment as Artistic Director has exposed the infighting at The Bolshoi Ballet, with many dancers resisting his attempts to bring more modern repertoire to the company.  He held an enormous amount of power, deciding matters of scheduling, casting, promotion and salary.

In Russian theatres today, defection and international travel are no longer the sources of drama. Instead, money is the main intruder aside from politics and professional rivalry. A dancer’s meagre salary is only boosted by Filin’s selection to perform leading roles. In Russia, lawlessness and corruption is the norm and what happens in the theatre is a reflection of what happens in the streets.“I feel like I’m on the front line of a war,” Filin said.²

In addition to the acid attack against Filin, The Bolshoi’s reputation has further been harmed by the recent revelations of former company dancer Anastasia Volochkova who claimed that it was a “giant brothel” with dancers forced to sleep with oligarchs and other influential members of society.

In a further twist to the tale, hundreds of dancers have sent a signed letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin demanding an investigation into Dmitrichenko’s confession.  Filin himself believes that Dmitrichenko was party to something much greater than what has so far been uncovered and that the true mastermind is yet to be caught.  Clearly he is not alone in his assertions.

Where does all of this leave ballet in Russia? Does this spell the end of the Bolshoi?

Ballet in Russia is part of the cultural landscape and a benchmark for dancers around the world. But the Bolshoi as a whole is devoid of a cohesive corps de ballet and is populated by gymnastic lead dancers who lack any great artistry on stage. Many of the best dancers are leaving Russia to dance in the United States and Europe and the company’s stars such as Svetlana Zakharova have been poached from The Mariinsky Theatre. The current scandals within The Bolshoi may affect the way the rest of the world perceives the company. Yet while the acid attack was shocking and the allegations of forced sexual activities are appalling, these things are apparently the norm in Russia and the locals are accustomed to such events.

The Bolshoi has fallen a long way since its golden age in the 1960s but it continues to create some of the world’s best dancers, firstly through the ballet school and then the company. Despite this, The Bolshoi itself isn’t guaranteed to last the test of time. The infighting that not only lead to the acid attack but the ensuing conflict amongst dancers and administrative staff, in addition to the current lack of direction for the company, doesn’t suggest much hope remains for a once great company.

“There is no happiness in our past,” the Soviet Bolshoi Ballet star Vladimir Vasiliev once said. ”And there will be none in our future.”³

Sources
1. USA Today www.usatoday.com
2. The New Yorker www.newyorker.com
3. The Atlantic www.theatlantic.com

Photo (top): Photo: The Bolshoi Ballet performing The Bright Stream. Photo courtesy of Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) and The Bolshoi Ballet.

By Rain Francis.

Rudolf Nureyev was one of the single most influential people in the history of dance. This year marks 20 years since his untimely death, but also 75 years since his birth. In celebration of this great man, special events, gala performances and tributes are taking place worldwide in 2013. There has been so much written about him, and he has become something of an enigma. But what was he really like? We ask two professional dancers who knew him personally, Frederic Jahn and Patricia Ruanne.

Jahn and Ruanne are both involved with the Nureyev Foundation, and worked with Nureyev for many decades during their illustrious careers.

Tell us, how did your involvement with The Nureyev Foundation come about?

Patricia Ruanne
In 1986, I was asked by Rudolf to stage his Sleeping Beauty in Istanbul. This led to my appointment as ballet mistress for The Paris Opera Ballet, at the time when Rudolf was director of the company. I was specifically brought in to help Sylvie Guillem in Rudolf’s new production of Cinderella. Initially I was responsible for all the principals in all of his productions, extending later to other selected choreographers and full company staging.

Frederic Jahn
We, and other principals of The English National Ballet (then London Festival Ballet), created Rudolf’s Romeo and Juliet. He was filming Valentino at the time, so we would start working after nine every night, when he returned from the studios. He was plotting the ballet, and we all changed characters to help him set it. This eventually taught us every role in the ballet, and later he gave Patricia and I sole responsibility for this production.

Will you be involved with any of the events or production in this year of celebration?

Frederic Jahn
In Toulouse, France, we will be doing a Nureyev Gala programme. It will be a selection of his works, including the Balcony Pas De Deux from Romeo and Juliet, the third act of Don Quixote and Bayadere Act 3.

Rudolf Nureyev with Patricia Ruanne and Frederic Jahn. Photo courtesy of Patricia Ruanne and Frederic Jahn.

There has been much written about Rudolf Nureyev, but how would you describe him?

Patricia Ruanne
Passionate, incredibly hard-working, relentless in the studio but at the same time very tolerant of people’s short-comings, as long as they kept working to improve. He had no tolerance at all for those who gave up or rejected the opportunity to change their habits to their advantage.

He had an endless curiosity about everything related to theater, from how a costume is made, to which lamps give which effects, to how a conductor controls the orchestra. This acquired knowledge stood him in excellent regard from the point of view of all backstage staff – the man knew what he was talking about.

Rudi was quite childlike in some ways; uninhibited in his enthusiasms, wonderful with children, animals and other people’s parents. He had a great sense of humor and a tangible interest and appreciation of his colleagues.

He was very generous with assistance and information for all levels of the company. He was very demanding of the people who worked closest with him, but never more than he was willing to invest himself. Stimulating, exciting to work with, an unforgettable personality.

What is your favourite of his ballets and why?

Frederic Jahn
Romeo and Juliet was my favourite of his ballets. He made this ballet for a company, and not as a vehicle for himself. Nureyev was a mega-star when he was alive. He was the most photographed person in the sixties; Margot Fonteyn and Nureyev were household names. When he did his own productions he marketed himself in them, hence the numerous variations in Sleeping Beauty. The public and the theater agents got over and above their money’s worth when a Nureyev production was presented.

In Romeo, he attempted his own choreography for the first time. For Juliet, it was Martha Graham on pointe; extremely difficult choreography. For the corps de ballet, there were real punch-ups created by a fight director. Rudolf did so little for himself and gave the production to the company, so much so that the first night, ballet critics called the ballet, Tybalt and Mercutio. It wasn’t until the theater critics came that all was revealed. They thought it was a masterpiece – particularly a section in the ballet where Mercutio fakes a false death, which leads his friends to laugh at him, when he truly is dying after his fight with Tybalt. This was his concept, and it’s subsequently been copied in theatrical productions.

His research was impeccable, to the extent that practically every line of the play is interpreted in his ballet. He was right in not making Romeo and Juliet into a romantic ballet – it’s not. It’s about two feuding families, the offspring of which fall in love, in an era of great violence, intolerance and disease.

In what other ways did Rudolf have an influence over dance and theater?

Frederic Jahn
This story was told by Eugene Poliakov. He was Rudolf’s ballet master at the Paris Opera, as well as the director of Teatro Comunale in Florence, Italy. I was his Ballet Master, and Poliakov and I shared an apartment when he came down to Florence once a month.

These were in the days before Rudolf defected and was still with the Kirov. He was dancing Siegfried in Swan Lake, and in those days all the men wore bloomers over their tights. It was not a particularly attractive look, as it cut the line of the leg. Rudolf was in his dressing room after finishing the first two acts, and refused to do the third act of Swan Lake if he had to wear bloomers over his tights. The management were furious but over a barrel, but they let him do it, as he was already an up-and-coming star in the Kirov.

After that incident, the fashion changed in that theater, and without doubt, the rest of the theaters in Russia. This change was only in Russia; the West was already showing gents’ legs. 

For more information about Rudolf Nureyev and the list of tribute events taking place this year, visit www.nureyev.org. 

Photo (top): Rudolf Nureyev with Frederic Jahn, courtesy of Frederic Jahn and Patricia Ruanne. 

By Deborah Searle.

Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz’s PIPPIN is back on Broadway for the first time since it first thrilled audiences 40 years ago! Previews began on March 23, with opening night scheduled for April 25 at the Music Box Theatre on West 45^th Street in New York City. Produced by Barry and Fran Weissler and Howard and Janet Kagan, and directed by Diane Paulus, PIPPIN is sure to enchant audiences.

A beloved coming of age musical, PIPPIN is noted for many Broadway standards including “Corner of the Sky,” “Magic To Do,” “Glory,” “No Time at All,” “Morning Glow,” and “Love Song.” In the story, royal heir Pippin is spurred on by a mysterious group of performers to embark on a death-defying journey to find his “corner of the sky.” Will he choose a happy but simple life? Or will he risk everything for a singular flash of glory?

The original production of PIPPIN, directed by none other than Bob Fosse, premiered on Broadway in 1972. It won five Tony Awards and five Drama Desk Awards, and ran for close to 2,000 performances before closing in 1977. This production of PIPPIN made its debut at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, MA, where Diane Paulus served as Artistic Director from December 5, 2012 to January 20 of this year.

The show will include circus creations by Gypsy Snider of the jaw-dropping Montreal-based circus company Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as “7 Fingers”) and choreography by the talented Chet Walker.

“The choreography is based in the Fosse Style,” explains Chet Walker, who was in PIPPIN’s original Broadway company. “I have used my years of working with Mr. Fosse to choreograph this new production.”

The cast, all of whom appeared in the premiere of Diane Paulus’s production of PIPPIN at American Repertory Theater, features Matthew James Thomas as Pippin, Tony and Olivier Award-nominee Patina Miller as Leading Player, Tony Award-nominee Terrence Mann as Charles, Tony Award-nominee Charlotte d’Amboise as Fastrada, Rachel Bay Jones as Catherine and Tony Award-winner Andrea Martin as Berthe.

Other members of the company include Erik Altemus as Lewis, as well as Gregory Arsenal, Andrew Cekala, Lolita Costet, Colin Cunliffe, Andrew Fitch, Orion Griffiths, Viktoria Grimmy, Olga Karmansky, Bethany Moore, Brad Musgrove, Stephanie Pope, Philip Rosenberg, Yannick Thomas, Molly Tynes and Anthony Wayne.

The design team includes Tony Award-winner Scott Pask (Scenic Design), Dominique Lemieux (Costume Design), Tony Award-winner Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design) and Tony Award-winner Clive Goodwin (Sound Design). The orchestrations are by Tony Award-winner Larry Hochman with music supervision by Nadia Di Giallonardo, and music direction by Charlie Alterman.

So what can audiences expect from this production of the classic? “We have combined an element of circus to this production,” says Walker excitedly. “The show has not been seen in Broadway for over 35 years. I think a new generation will have the chance to see PIPPIN as a new show!”

“I think the story, the character and the amazing songs, wrapped with a circus filled with magic, dance and acrobatic elements, makes it an amazing production.”

Tickets for PIPPIN are available through www.telecharge.com/pippin, by calling 212-239-6200, and in-person at the Music Box Theatre Box Office, located at 239 West 45^th Street. Tickets range in price from $59 to $142. For more information, visit www.PippinTheMusical.com.

Photo (top): From left, Anthony Wayne, Patina Miller and Andrew Fitch performing in PIPPIN at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, MA. Photo by Michael J. Lutch.

Test your ballet terminology.

By Rain Francis.

1.   What does piqué mean?

a)     To pick
b)     To prick
c)     To stick
d)     To click

2.     If you were doing a fondu, how many legs would you be standing on?

a)     One
b)     Two
c)     None

3.     Who was the ‘royale’ (or changement battu) allegedly named for?

a)     Nijinksy
b)     Nijinksa
c)     Pavlova
d)     Louis XIV

4.     Which of the following means ‘to fall’?

a)     Tombé
b)     Chassé
c)     Jeté
d)     Pas de bourrée

5.     Which of the following is commonly considered a step to be performed by a male dancer?

a)     Fouetté en tourant
b)     Tour en l’air
c)     Glissade
d)     Grand battements

6.     If you were travelling de côté, in which direction would you be going?

a)     Forwards
b)     Backwards
c)     Sideways
d)     Diagonally

7.     Where would you find your jambes?

a)     At the end of your arms
b)     Attached to your hips
c)     On your shoulders
d)     In your ballet shoes

8.     Which body parts are primarily involved in épaulement?

a)     Head, neck, shoulders
b)     Waist, hips, hands
c)     Feet and legs
d)     Arms and legs

9.     Which of the following is not named for an animal?

a)     Pas de chat
b)     Pas de cheval
c)     Pas de bourrée

10.  True or false?

Frappé means ‘to whip’.

Answers:

1 – b; 2 – a; 3 – d; 4 – a; 5 –b; 6 – c; 7 – b; 8 – a; 9 – c; 10 – false.

Photo © Dmitri Mihhailov | Dreamstime.com 

By Julie Galle Baggentoss.

Flamenco dancers have a reputation for being fiery, dynamic and full of emotion, with percussive footwork juxtaposed against soft circling hands. Behind that strong image is a tradition of musical codes that puts dancers in the role of accompanist, part of a synergy within the group. Flamenco dancers listen carefully to live music to use their vocabulary to build the emotion expressed by a live singer. The code of nonverbal communication was the final lesson of a four-day workshop by La Compañía Manuel Liñán in March, while the company was in Atlanta to perform at the Rialto Center for the Arts.

Flamenco as we know it on theater stages and dance studios today originated nearly 150 years ago in southern Spain, called in Spanish “Andalucía.” It rose from a musical tradition, when gypsies extemporaneously belted out lines of poetry to express themselves in private gatherings.  Flamenco dance came along later as an accompaniment to the live singing, as did the guitar. In the late 1800s, flamenco exploded into theater stages, and audiences around the world quickly embraced it. Today, based on its roots, flamenco dance is still created as an accompaniment to the singing, which can vary and sometimes completely change from one day to the next, depending on how the singer places emotive lines of poetry in standard melodies. In live performance art, this creates structured improvisation that is thrilling for many.

“Everyone has a role. In flamenco, no one is an island,” said Erica Poole, a flamenco student for six years and a participant from the singing and dance classes during the Liñán company workshop in Atlanta. “It requires synergy and attentiveness to one another.”

Using a mix of common and individual vocabulary, dancers react to ever-changing live music. The changes lead dancers to delay or arrive early at times with accents, such as splats of footwork, to enhance the expression of the song. And, in return, dancers influence the next lines of the song.

“The singer brings the flamenco song (the story), which is the basis of the flamenco work. The other disciplines create their works around their interpretation of it,” said Yolanda Bell, a flamenco dance student who attended the workshop in Atlanta.

During the workshop, guitarists, singers, and dancers met separately in classes to learn new material “por tangos” (to the rhythm and melody of tangos, a form of song in flamenco.) Classes culminated with all disciplines in the room together executing the new work in its gestalt form, allowing students to experience the disciplines intertwined.

“I could find my movement and my body rhythm coming along with the singers, and with the guitarist, even though Manuel is a perfect teacher who makes you hear the music in his moves without any guitar or singer in the room,” said flamenco dancer Fani, who teaches and performs flamenco in Atlanta.

In the workshop’s final run of the piece, the singing began eight counts later than expected. Dancers and guitarists took that opportunity to listen and react accordingly to the unexpected change. According to the improvisational structure, they waited those eight counts to begin their next action for the group to continue.

“As a dancer, you really have to listen to the music and ‘cante’ (song) to be part of the unit, especially when you’re with your back towards the musicians and can’t see what’ they’re doing,” said Debbie Fung-A-Wing, who has been studying flamenco for several years in Atlanta.

Dancers’ skills as accompanists come from understanding the music, becoming musicians themselves as they percussively embody melody. Singers’ ability to lead dancers comes from understanding the needs of the dancers. Dance student Bell saw this when she attended singing classes, as well as dance classes during the workshop. She explained of her singing teacher Juan Debel, “When [a student] asked why the count seemed longer, he said that would accommodate the dancers. He also emphasized the ‘remates’ (strong endings to song verses) with ‘palmas’ (hand clapping) and where the entry of the dancers would be. Later, when we sang with everyone, it helped us to understand how all disciplines fit the flamenco work into one beautiful piece.”

Bell attended the singing class to better understand the music that she accompanies as a dancer.  “It is necessary that all of the disciplines understand how the others integrate into the flamenco work especially regarding the ‘compás’ (musical timing) to have that clean constant communication within flamenco,” said Bell.

Putting the disciplines together reveals lessons that complement individual training and practice.  “The singer can know when it is best for the dancer to ‘rematar’ (accent the end of the song verse or musical phrase), when to wait or when to listen for when the dancers will ‘rematar,’” said Liñán.

Just as dancers can create magic – that moment that makes people say, “flamenco is so passionate” – they can also kill the opportunity. “Flamenco is the only art where, in the learning process, everything can come crashing down if each component is not truly accompanying the other,” said Poole. “‘Baile, cante, and toque’ (dance, song, and guitar) all have to ride the same wave. If not, then any element could crash at any time losing momentum entirely for everyone.”

That responsibility to one another is part of the communal spirit of flamenco that inspires moments of rapture for witnesses, as well as the artists in action. Being able to work together live and in the moment is a goal for many who participated in classes in Atlanta in March.

“They have the material. Now they have to practice it,” said Liñán. “They have to practice a lot, many hours,” added guitarist Víctor Márquez “Tomate.” Singer Juan Debel explained, “When they dedicate much time to practice, they are able to come together. We taught them material to complement each other. Now, they practice on their own and then come back together, they will improve.”

And so it goes that flamenco dancers and the musicians whom they accompany work for years on their own to develop technique, repertoire and an ear for the music so that they can be great team members of a ‘cuadro.’ All the time, they must also hone their skills to listen, watch and react in the group setting. In time all of the gear turning that must take place inside the mind of the flamenco dancer, becomes second nature. Thinking gives way to feeling, as they say in flamenco.

Dancer Poole said of accompanying musicians during the Atlanta workshop, “There was no thought as to whether I had to wait two beats because I could feel where I was supposed to dance with the ‘cante’ (song), plus I recognized when I was specifically calling for more cante.”

Some say it is when the dancer feels, as Poole explains, that she is able to fully communicate to witnesses the singer’s emotion that she is embodying. That connection to the music helps create the moments when flamenco hits witnesses, sends goose bumps across the skin and coaxes cheers of “¡Olé!” The strong flamenco dancer often gets the credit for the upwelling of emotion, when unbeknown to many, she was led there by her singer.

Photos: Dancers participate in a four-day workshop with La Compañía Manuel Liñán in Atlanta. Photos by Erik Voss.

By Rain Francis.

Rudolf Nureyev was one of the single most influential people in the history of dance. This year marks 20 years since his untimely death, but also 75 years since his birth. In celebration of this great man, many special events, gala performances and tributes are taking place worldwide in 2013. There has been so much written about him, and he has become something of an enigma. But what was he really like? We ask two professional dancers who knew him personally, Frederic Jahn and Patricia Ruanne.

Jahn and Ruanne are both involved with The Nureyev Foundation, and worked with Nureyev for many decades during their illustrious careers. In Patricia’s case, this relationship began in 1964, when Raymonda was presented at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, during the epoch when Margot Fonteyn’s husband was shot. For Frederic, it began in 1969, when Rudolf staged Don Quixote for The Australian Ballet.

How well did you know Rudolf Nureyev?

Frederic Jahn
I began to know Rudi better when we were working on Romeo and Juliet. I had worked with him before, as a very young corps de ballet member of The Australian Ballet. I was cast as the Old Don in Don Quixote, as Helpmann’s second cast, so I was privy to a lot of personal information, which was a tremendous learning curve in stagecraft.

Rudolf advised me to go to Europe, indicating that I should benefit from a wider professional platform than could be found in Australasia. This interest in a young dancer’s future was typical of the generosity he showed to fellow artistes. In my mind, I didn’t understand why he should single me out, but he clearly recognised some potential in me that I didn’t know I had. These ‘good old days’ were the platform of our relationship.

We discovered that most of the time he was by himself in London when he was choreographing Romeo and Juliet. Everybody thought that being a celebrity, he was wined and dined every night, when in fact he was just in his flat by himself. We would drop by and go to lunch or dinner. We established a close relationship, but I don’t know if we could say we were real friends. I felt he had trouble trusting people, and rightly so, as many used him for their own political ambitions, and still continue to do so.

I once dressed him in Italy; the dressers were scared of him so the management asked me if I would do it. I was the interim Ballet Master in Naples for the time Nureyev was there. I felt I was a friend, and it felt just as if you were helping a chum next to you do up his costume. The performance was already 20 minutes late, and a public of 3000 excited Italians were all clapping in unison to get the open-air show going. Italians can be very rowdy. He wasn’t going to be rushed, and the more noise they made, the gigglier he became. The management was knocking at the door, and I had to keep telling them he needed a few minutes more, at which point he said, “Ricky, have you heard the story about Bear and Rabbit sitting on edge of the wood?” I said I hadn’t, and he proceeded to tell me this scatological tale. We both left the dressing room giggling like schoolgirls, passing the fuming theatre management. Needless to say, when he came on stage, the audience was in a frenzy. He had in fact calculated that being late would drive the audience to this point, and he would give a performance that would be, for many people, a life-long memorable event. I felt that incident bonded us, and became the origin for many dinnertime anecdotes.

Rudolf Nureyev and Patricia Ruanne

Patricia Ruanne
I came to know him as well as he would allow. We had a good working relationship as dancers, and certainly he never gave me personally any ‘grief’ as a partner, which was not always the case with other dancers!

This agreeable understanding intensified once I went to join him in Paris. There was much discussion about the development of his dancers and I began to learn things on an entirely different level. Equally, he was always generous enough to listen to my thoughts on a subject, acknowledging that being on pointe was one asset he had never mastered. His demonstration of professional respect and affection to both myself and also to Frederic when he was there was naturally very helpful towards the Paris Opera dancers’ perception of us.

He frequently asked me to be hostess to his host at his home in Paris, so I met some fascinating people and we had a lot of fun. He couldn’t bear pretentious posturing; some folk were never invited back, or we would retire to the kitchen on the pretext of checking whether his cook was drunk yet, and try to dream up some plausible excuse for getting rid of someone who was boring him to tears. His proposals were generally along the lines of something dreamed up by Sweeney Todd; rather gory, but very funny. Lord knows what his guests made of the shrieks of laughter echoing from the back pantry!

He trusted me quite early on with the knowledge of his illness, and I spent every Sunday with him once he was obliged to be hospitalised towards the end of his life – something I remain glad to have been able to do.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about him?

Frederic Jahn
That he was bad tempered and rude and had no respect for others. He was not. It takes two to tango. Rudolf reacted to how people reacted to him, full stop.

Patricia Ruanne
I agree. I have seen him explode, but it was never without just cause. He had no time for laziness, indifference or lack of commitment to our profession. ‘Wasting time’ appalled him, given the brevity of a dancer’s performing life and he was incapable of understanding a lack of enthusiasm for anything related to the stage.

What was his greatest legacy?

Patricia Ruanne
This is an almost impossible question to answer. For my generation – and those who were able to see him perform at his best – there will forever remain the image of just how much can be accomplished by sheer hard work, dedication and never falling into the trap of believing your own publicity.

Personally, I think the strongest link to future generations will be the fact that he was also a great teacher, and instilled this care for others into so many younger dancers, some of whom are now directing companies. Watching them coach dancers in roles they once performed themselves, one can see the influence of Nureyev quite clearly.

He once said to me, when I was struggling with an exceptionally difficult company who appeared incapable of coping with his challenging choreography, “Are they doing the best they can? If so, and even if it’s not the standard you would like to see, you have to love and respect them for giving all that they are capable of.” I think that says a lot about the kind of man he was, and I try to apply this great advice always.

What can students today learn from him?

Patricia Ruanne
Don’t waste time – there’ll never be enough of it. Never give up on yourself. Always work to the best of your ability, but don’t let yourself sink into a depression when in a bad patch. Just keep at it – it will come back if you don’t frustrate yourself mentally. Keep your sense of humour and care about yourself.

Rudolf did not have a perfect physique and had to overcome many technical problems. Nonetheless, he had the most sensational career. It’s a perfect example of belief in self, dedication and determination.

For more information about Rudolf Nureyev and the list of tribute events taking place this year, visit www.nureyev.org.

Photos courtesy of Frederic Jahn and Patricia Ruanne. Top photo: Rudolf Nureyev and Frederic Jahn in rehearsal.

How strong is your Broadway Brain? Test your knowledge of the world’s greatest musicals.

By Rain Francis.

Jersey Boys is a documentary-style musical based on the story of which band?

a) The Who

b) The Four Seasons

c) The Four Tops

d) One Direction

What is the longest-running show on Broadway?

a) Cats

b) Les Miserables

c) The Phantom of the Opera

d) Wicked

Which of the following was NOT based on a film?

a) The Lion King

b) Chicago

c) Saturday Night Fever

d) Sweet Charity

What do Movin’ Out, Moonshadow and Mamma Mia have in common (besides all starting with M)?

a) They were all directed originally by Bill T. Jones

b) They were all adapted from novels

c) They are all ‘jukebox’ musicals

d) They were all choreographed by Twyla Tharp

True or false: Grease the movie came before Grease the musical?

Cabaret was based on a book by which author?

a) Christopher Isherwood

b) Emily Bronte

c) Charles Dickens

d) William S. Burroughs

Which of the following is NOT a character from Annie?

a) Miss Hannigan

b) Rooster

c) Molly

d) Annie Oakley

In which musical would you find Peggy Sawyer, Dorothy Brock and Julian Marsh?

a) The Producers

b) Hello, Dolly!

c) My Fair Lady

d) 42^nd Street

Who choreographed Gypsy, West Side Story and On The Town, among many others?

a) Bob Fosse

b) Jerome Robbins

c) Twyla Tharp

d) Steven Sondheim

Which Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is derived from poems by T. S. Eliot?

a) Cats

b) Starlight Express

c) Evita

d) Jesus Christ Superstar

ANSWERS:
1 – b; 2 – c; 3 – b; 4 – c; 5 – False; 6 – a; 7 – d; 8 – d; 9 – b; 10 – a

Top photo: West Side Story. Photo by David Wyatt.

How much do you know about George Balanchine, one of the 20th century’s most famous choreographers?

By Rain Francis.

1. George Balanchine was born in which country?

a) USA

b) Germany

c) Russia

d) Poland

2. With which composer would you MOST associate Balanchine?

a) Tchaikovsky

b) Stravinsky

c) Ravel

d) Gerhswin

3. Which of the following is NOT represented in Balanchine’s Jewels?

a) Sapphires

b) Rubies

c) Emeralds

d) Diamonds

4. Which group of dancers was Concerto Barocco choreographed on?

a) New York City Ballet

b) Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo

c) Julliard School of Dance

d) School of American Ballet

5. How many times did Balanchine marry?

a) none

b) twice

c) four times

d) five times

6. Which dancer created the lead role in The Prodigal Son?

a) Serge Lifar

b) Vaslav Nijinksy

c) Leonide Massine

d) Mikhail Baryshnikov

7. Which ballerina created the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker ?

a) Maria Tallchief

b) Suzanne Farrell

c) Gelsey Kirkland

d) Patricia McBride

8. Which was the first ballet Balanchine choreographed in America?

a) Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux

b) Serenade

c) Agon

d) Apollo

9. Which of the following Greek muses is NOT present in the ballet Apollo?

a) Terpsichore, muse of dance

b) Caliope, muse of epic poetry

c) Clio, muse of history

d) Polyhymnia, muse of mime or hymns

10. Theme and Variations is choreographed to a score by which composer?

a) Stravinsky

b) Prokofiev

c) Satie

d) Tchaikovsky

ANSWERS: 1 – c; 2 – b; 3 – a; 4 – d; 5 – d; 6 – a; 7 – a; 8 – b; 9 – c; 10 – d

Photo: English National Ballet. Thomas Edur and Agnes Oaks performing Balanchine’s Apollo. Photo by Patrick Baldwin.

Test your dance knowledge…

By Rain Francis.

With which name would you MOST associate Ginger Rogers?

a) Gene Kelly

c) Mikhail Baryshnikov

c) Fred Astaire

d) Donald O’Connor

For which ballerina was the Dying Swan choreographed by Mikhail Fokine?

a) Anna Pavlova

b) Natalia Markova

c) Alicia Makarova

d) Anna Karenina

Who did Lucette Aldous dance alongside in the 1973 filmed version of Don Quixote?

a) Mikhail Baryshnikov

b) Rudolph Nureyev

c) Anthony Dowell

d) Carlos Acosta

Which of the following names would you LEAST associate with contemporary dance?

a) Martha Graham

b) Jose Limon

c) Cyd Charrise

d) Merce Cunningham

Which king is best associated with the origins of classical ballet?

a) Louis XIV (King of France from 1643-1715)

b) Henry VIII (England, 1509-1547)

c) Ferdinand III (Italy, 1637-1657)

d) Phillip III (France, 1270-1285)

Which of the following was Gene Kelly the star of?

a) Singin’ in the Rain

b) An American in Paris

c) Ziegfeld Follies

d) All of the above

Which American ballerina wrote Dancing on my Grave?

a) Maria Tallchief

b) Gelsey Kirkland

c) Darci Kistler

d) Cynthia Harvey

Who’s daughter is Liza Minnelli?

a) Elizabeth Taylor

b) Debbie Reynolds

c) Margot Fonteyn

d) Judy Garland

Who choreographed Cabaret, Chicago and Damn Yankees?

a) Bob Fosse

b) Jerome Robbins

c) George Balanchine

d) Alvin Ailey

What nationality is renowned dancer Sylvie Guillem?

a) Italian

b) English

c) French

d) Canadian

Answers:

1 – c, 2 – a, 3 – b, 4 – c, 5 – a, 6 – d, 7 – b, 8 – d, 9 – a, 10 – c